Aspen tree ceremonies for Colorado weddings

I never get sick of looking at photos from Colorado mountain weddings in the fall—a sun-drenched grove of aspen trees makes for such a pretty backdrop (case in point: the lovely real wedding at SaddleRidge in Beaver Creek featured in our current issue of Brides Colorado.) Since aspen trees are so quintessentially Colorado, I love the idea of including an aspen tree planting in your wedding ceremony. At Della Terra Mountain Chateau in Estes Park, couples can opt to have a brief presentation of aspen saplings accompanied by a description of how the trees support and rely upon each other as they grow together. The bride and groom each add a scoop of earth during the ceremony to a container holding the trees, which are later planted on the Della Terra property, which is surrounded by the Rocky Mountain National Park. The wedding ceremony is often followed with guests tossing colorful aspen leaves on the couple as they recess. The cutest part: the Chateau has 14 luxury suites, so you can revisit the venue for future anniversaries as see "your" aspen trees grow. —Lauren Matthews, Brides Colorado